Equilibrium
by strawberryantacids
Summary: A fairly cliche "Alex goes to live with Wolf for protection from a dangerous organisation, and all the drama that ensues with K-Unit" fic. But this time, the enemy isn't an evil henchman. How can K-Unit protect Alex from his own mind?
1. Chapter 1

_Hi! I'm back. If you read this story the first time round, and have followed it, you'll notice it's gone under some serious changes. _

_The reason for this? I wrote it months ago, and a lot has changed in my life, except my love for Fanfiction, of course, like being sent to various hospitals and rehabilitation programs (with no internet!) for eating disorders and a variety of other problems. When I stumbled across this story again, I simply cringed. So I combined the first two chapters, (sort of) and it went under a serious make over. I hope you like this version better, because I do. I'll try to update the best that I can. :) _

* * *

To say that Wolf was having a bad day was a bit of an understatement.

It wasn't so much the waking up at the break of dawn on a mattress made out of concrete to Eagle's hurricane snoring, the gruelling exercise tasks in the horrid rain, the excruciatingly painful paper work, or having to talk to a small old man with a blank look in his eye who called himself a therapist because he has the uncanny ability to never run out of frustrating questions, and it wasn't having to deal with an unbelievably hyperactive, dysfunctional unit.

It was MI6, or rather, the Royal and General Bank, which was the epitome of his troubles lately. A week before, he had been sent a message all the way from Britain to Wales, whilst on training for the _SAS_, to urgently discuss his 'finances' on his arrival home.

He'd been pushing himself and his unit harder to take his mind off of it, because last time he'd met with MI6, he'd been sent to Iraq. His stomach tightened and curled into knots at the mere thought of it, and the ghost of his injured arm pulsed with his heartbeat.

Not that he would ever, _ever_ admit to his unit he was scared for them. This was his job, dammit! This was what he chose as a career, and was passionate with his whole being that this was what he was going to be doing until he retired.

But it had taken K-Unit six months to get back to training, and now that was going to be ruined again, after a sure to be terrifying deployment.

He'd hated those six months of leave; it had ripped him and his three best friends, not just colleagues, apart. Even further when Fox decided to leave the SAS and pursue the life of secret intelligence.

He was immediately replaced by a tall, strongly built man codenamed Lynx. The soldier had made no effort at all to connect with K-Unit the way Fox had. To Wolf, a vivacious unit leader, it was simply insulting, and he had treated the new addition with a cool, professional indifference.

He missed his old team, the one that seemed like a family (though he would never admit that out loud either).

He hated that it was tomorrow they'd be flying back to London.

He didn't know what MI6 had to say to him, but he was damn sure he hated it already.

Yes, to say that Wolf was having a bad day was a bit of an understatement.

But back in London, one sixteen year old professional spy wasn't having a particularly great day either.

"We're deporting you Miss Starbright."

The announcement was greeted with a shocked silence.

Alex Rider felt his blood run cold and his heart beat in his ears. He found himself choking before he could speak again.

"_Excuse me? _After everything I've done for you under the pretense that this _wouldn't_ happen? Was it something I've done? Because I can fix it-"

Tulip Jones held up a hand to stop the boy's near shouting. "Please, Alex, Mr. Blunt was being well, rather blunt. Perhaps he started off on the wrong note. We have reason to believe a powerful organization is targeting you, and anyone close to you. This is the safest option."

Alex sighed and massaged his aching forehead. _Like this is anything new. _

"..And Alex is coming with me, right?" Jack squeaked, her eyes wide and her face pale.

"I'm afraid not." Jones replied around a small peppermint. Alex was beginning to believe she had an embarrassing breath odour problem, and struggled to keep a straight face at the thought despite the serious situation.

"We need Alex in London. He will be sent to live with someone who is fully qualified to deal with any dangerous situation, and where we can easily keep an eye on him. Alex will not be allowed to attend school until we are completely sure the threat had died down."

"_What?_ " Jack now had tears brimming in her eyes, and the housekeeper hated the way her voice cracked in front of the cold and seemingly emotionless heads of MI6. "He's got GSCE's this year, are you trying to get the school to expel him?"

"The other option is death, Miss Starbright, which would you prefer?"

Alex silently admired the way Jack looked Blunt straight in the eyes with the same expression she used to get him to do the dishes. He was long past arguing with the impassive man, knowing it would never get him anywhere. But that didn't mean he didn't have anything to say while the grown ups tended to his life decisions.

"Who is this organization anyway?" He asked, rather rudely.

"The less you know, the safer you are." Jones supplied, not looking him in the eye, but fidgeting with the paperwork on her desk.

"Great." Alex sighed, casting his eyes to the ceiling in an exasperated silent prayer to whatever higher power happened to be listening. He counted to ten in his mind before tuning back in to the conversation.

"-which is _complete bullshit_!" Jack was now on her feet, her red hair framing her face and matching her infuriated expression perfectly. "Sending me back home, forcing me to leave Alex in your hands-"

"-where he's safest!" Jones cut over the top of her as she felt Blunt becoming increasingly annoyed at the American's belligerence. She reached into a draw and brought out a thick envelope. "Here are your plane tickets and a small compensation. You will be leaving early Thursday morning. We're very proud of your cooperation Alex. We'll be in touch again soon."

The salutation would have been pleasant enough, had it been coming from anyone else. It left small shivers crawling down his spine, and recognizing the dismissal, he stood, grabbed the ranting housekeepers arm, and left the room with his head held high.

"How could they do this, Alex?" Jack cried for the hundredth time since they had arrived back at their home in Chelsea. "With only a day's notice, too! I can't leave you in their cold, slimy hands. They don't care about you like I do! I know you're not a machine."

Knowing she was about to start crying, _again_, Alex jumped up to make a pot of tea. "I'll be fine Jack! You know me." He turned around to give her a weak smile as he filled the kettle. There was no response as his guardian (well, for now) read through her plane flight itinerary. "It's a one way ticket Alex!" She wailed. "I'm not coming back!"

"Of course you are!" He leant his back against the kitchen counter, silently cursing the kettle for not boiling any faster. "They're just not sure how long this'll take to go away."

The 'small compensation' had turned out to be two thousand pounds and four thousand US dollars, in cash.

"You better go upstairs and start to pack Alex," sniffed Jack as he placed the tea in front of her. She gripped it, warming her hands through the tall mug.

"Why did Ian have to be a spy? Why couldn't he have been a plumber, or a drunk like a normal uncle?" He muttered to himself as he climbed the stairs tiredly. He heard Jack's small snort of mirth and smiled to himself.

Still, the thought of his late uncle brought back that familiar sadness settling onto his chest; the same one he often associated with his bouts of depression after missions. He suddenly found he couldn't even fathom summoning up the energy to pack, and instead slid into his bed and wished he could go to sleep, and wake up before any of this special intelligence drama came into his life.

He was fast asleep, long before Jack hovered worriedly in his bedroom doorway, still clutching a cup of tea, watching his curled up figure and the small movements of his breathing until she turned away to her own bedroom.

* * *

Thursday came far too quickly for the Rider household, and found Alex and Jack sitting awkwardly in the back of a sleek, official Mercedes Benz, with a driver who seemed overly honoured at the opportunity to be the famous Alex Rider's chauffeur for a day, of which was currently frowning at the scenery outside the vehicle, looking like any typical teenager.

"This isn't the way to Heathrow, is it?" He questioned suspiciously.

The driver shook his head and glanced back at his passengers, and Alex had to fight back an undignified giggle at his thick handlebar moustache. "No sir. I've specific instructions to drop you off at your guardians first." He spoke in a proper, pompous, but warm voice that made the teen want to simultaneously like, and hate the man.

Neither passenger had anything to say to this, but the young spy knew Jack was fighting the urge to smack the grinning driver upside the head.

The tension in the car could have been cut with a knife. Both Alex and Jack were sulking, and even the moustached chauffeur stopped whistling to the radio as he noticed the tense atmosphere.

It was a long drive. Alex had time to think about everything from his friends at school, to MI6, to who he could possibly be staying with before they finally pulled up at a set of modern looking apartments, so white they were almost blinding in the early afternoon sun. The driver enthusiastically hopped out of the car to retrieve his luggage before Jack and Alex had even undone their seatbelts.

"Now Alex, you have _everything_?" The American fussed, brushing imaginary dirt off of his shoulder and straightening the collar of his red flannel shirt.

"Yes, Jack." He grinned, trying to make light of the situation.

The driver pushed a small key into his hand and pulled his suitcase and bag out of the trunk of the glossy black car.

"I'll make sure to call _every_ night! Oh, are you sure you're going to be okay? You don't know who this man is, maybe I should come in and-"

"Sorry miss, but we're going to have to hurry if you want to make your flight in time."

The red head gripped Alex in a tight hug that he returned fiercely.

"Jack? You've got to go." He murmured in her ear a few moments later, not wanting to break the embrace.

When they pulled apart her face was streaked with tears and grief. "I'll call later, okay! I love you!" she called as she was hurried back into the car.

Alex watched them go sullenly before wheeling his suitcase into the building. There was a counter, but no one to service him, so he looked at the number on the key tag. 12D. probably on the fourth floor, so Alex wheeled his things into the elevator.

If he thought the tension in the car was bad, it was nothing compared to having to share the elevator with a middle aged man arguing with a tall, grey haired woman who was most probably his wife.

"_Every damn time_!" She was screeching, smacking him with her heavy leather handbag to emphasize every word. "Every time you go into that damn casino with those damned delinquent friends of yours, you come out drunk and broke, I've just about had enough!"

He all but ran out of the lift as soon as the doors opened at the fourth floor.

Wandering down the plain hall, he found room 12D to be around a small corner on the right ride.

Swallowing down his uncertainties, he gathered the courage to knock on the door. Three times.

He waited a small while before raising his fist to knock again, but stopped as he heard the scraping of a lock being slid undone, and then another.

A short, but heavily built Hispanic man opened the door with an expression that would probably send any other visitor running in the other direction.

"Double oh nothin', eh?" He didn't seem surprised at all, but Alex could swear he felt his heart skip a beat in his chest.

"_Wolf?_"

Was this some sort of sick joke? The man was probably the last person on Earth the teen would expect to be looking after him. He didn't even seem to want to let Alex into the apartment, but shuffled aside after a few awkward moments.

As soon as the door slammed shut, the room was as cold as the tension; Alex had experienced a _lot _of uneasiness that day.

The flat wasn't that big, definitely not as big as his house back in Chelsea, but it wasn't exactly small either. The living room and kitchen were one big room, the walls white and impersonal, with no photos or decorations, save a dying pot plant on a small table next to the grey couch. The carpet below his feet was an off-cream sort of colour, and didn't look particularly well cleaned.

"Well um," the soldier cleaned his throat in a nervous gesture, "this is the living room, and that's obviously the kitchen. Do you eat or whatever?" The young spy raised an eyebrow at this, "I can't cook, so, fend for yourself, whatever. I'm not your mum, wherever the hell she is."

He lead the teen down the hallway. "First door on the right's the laundry, on the left it's where you'll find towels and sheets and shit. Second door here is the bathroom, third is my room. You don't _ever _go in there, do you hear me? I don't trust you spy types. There's the toilet, and here at the end is where you'll be staying. Do whatever, I honestly don't care. I've been told I've got to protect you, but I don't know what from."

He leaned on the door frame as Alex placed his suitcase and bag on the single bed. The room was as plain as the rest of the apartment, with minimal furniture, just a bed, a small table, and a set of drawers. There was a fairly large window looking over London, and Alex immediately closed the heavy blue curtains, feeling a little vulnerable with them open. The room darkened considerably.

"Well?"

"Well _what_?" Alex spun around the face the man and found him staring with a bored, expectant look on his face.

"Why are you here?"

"I don't know any more than you do. I haven't been told anything."

Wolf gave an uncommitted grunt, obviously unsatisfied with his answer.

"Well then where's your rich daddy? Too busy to look after you?"

"Yeah, something like that. There's a diner around the corner, yeah?"

Wolf nodded as the teen slid past him, heading toward the door, not caring or bothering to ask any more questions as he left the apartment without another word.

The diner he had asked about was literally a two minute walk from the apartment block. Wolf lived on a particularly busy street, and all kinds of people pushed their way past him. Business men, dressed in important looking suits on their way to work, girls in slutty clothing wearing far too much make up, and mums with small children.

But Alex was willing to bet no one of them were teenage spies living with an SAS soldier who hated his guts.

He entered the café, which was a small place, painted bright orange with electric blue furniture, and art hanging everywhere.

The girl at the counter was cute with bright blue flirtatious eyes and long blonde hair, and he ordered his coffee with a cheeky smile, which was eagerly returned.

He sat down in a dark corner out of habit, so he could observe the people around him. Mostly elderly couples, since it was a school day.

It wasn't long before his coffee and a sandwich was sat in front of him by the attractive counter girl.

"On the house." She winked. "I'm on break in half an hour, if you wanna hang round." Then she walked off without another word.

Alex did indeed hang around; it's not as if he had anything waiting for him back at Wolf's flat.

It turned out the girls name was Jessie, and she was having a huge house party on Saturday, and after being engaged in an incredibly flirty, long winded conversation, she wanted him to come.

"You can bring some friends if you want, just as long as they aren't dickheads." Then she wrote her number on his hand and went back to work.

He walked back to Wolf's with a smile on his face, that was quickly wiped away after reminding himself where he was going.

He slipped through the door of apartment 12D silently, and either Wolf didn't hear him or didn't want to acknowledge him from in front of the TV where he was watching a rerun of some terrible soap opera.

The two didn't talk for the rest of the day, and that suited Alex just fine.


	2. Chapter 2

_I gave the first chapter a total make over, go back and read it if you got an alert for this chapter! Thanks, xxxx_

* * *

Though both occupants of apartment 12D were dreading it, the next day rolled around and Wolf and Cub had to face each other again.

Alex awoke at exactly six, very suddenly as though someone had shouted in his ear. It took him several moments for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and his brain to adjust to the change of scenery.

Strangely full of energy, he pulled a shirt over his bare chest and silently crept down the hall as to not wake up Wolf, but found the man already in the kitchen, sitting slumped over with his forehead resting on the wooden table next to a cup of coffee that looked as if it had gone cold a long time ago.

Not sure if he was pushing the matter by even acknowledging it, he decided to test the waters.

"Wolf?" He asked tentatively, hovering near the door in case he needed a quick escape. It was a full, awkward minute before he even got the reply.

"What?"

"Um, do you have to go to work or something? Do you want me to make some breakfast?"

Even in his tired state, Wolf still managed to find enough energy for a harsh, sarcastic laugh, propping his head up with one hand. "If you can find something, go ahead."

He was right, though. Finding edible food seemed to be a demanding challenge, too stressful for Alex's mind at six in the morning. The fridge was almost bare, it's only occupants three six packs of beer, a carton of milk almost completely empty, half a block of suspiciously old looking cheese, a variety of cooking ingredients that everyone had in their fridge but never used, and two jars of untouched marmalade.

Who even _likes_ marmalade?

"Uh, look Cub, I was meant to go shopping yesterday before you arrived, but I was busy, and yeah. You can tell I'm not good at this guardian shit, and I'm not going to pretend to be. I'm not your mum."

Alex cleared his throat nervously, shifting from one foot to another. Evil henchmen and assassins he could deal with, but living with Wolf?

"Would you like me to go shopping while you're out?"

"I was told you were under house arrest."

Alex felt a stab of annoyance at the choice of words. "Yeah, right. I've done far more dangerous things than shop for _you, _Wolf. I can take care of myself."

"Whatever. I'll leave some money on the bench when I go. You have a key right?" Alex nodded an affirmative. "Oh, and you might want to call me James while you're here. I do have friends outside the military, you know. They might think you're a freak if you keep calling me by my codename."

James. That was the almighty Wolf's name? It was slightly less threatening than Alex had expected. He suspected the SAS hated telling him what to do as much as Alex hated being told what to do.

At least they wouldn't get in each other's way.

Wolf went to shower, and Alex, sick of sitting by himself in silence, made a cup of tea and went up to the guest room.

It was completely bare, and all of his belongings still sat packed away in his suitcase. He vaguely wondered if Wolf would mind him putting posters on the walls, but it didn't seem like he had the right to anyway.

This wasn't _his _room.

Sighing at the loneliness he was beginning to feel so accustomed to, that settled in his chest at the thought, he reached for his mobile at the bottom of his back pack.

Having not checked it for several days, he wasn't surprised at the twelve missed calls and fifteen text messages. He'd fallen asleep far earlier than normal, and he'd missed Jack's phone calls. All nine of them. Nine of the messages were also from the red headed American.

_I love you, miss you already. xxx_

_Why aren't u answering Alex?! _

_Is everything okay?_

_I swear to god alex if you're just not answering me I'll fly back over there just to personally kick u in the neck._

They gradually became more worried and panicked, and left Alex grinning like mad.

The other three missed calls were from Tom. His best friend no doubt thought he'd been sent off on another mission, as he'd sent a text as well.

_What's going on? Message me when you can. _

The other five texts were from ditzy girls from Brooklands asking where he was, obviously so they could gossip to the whole school about it.

He sent a quick text to Jack telling her he was fine, and one to Tom telling him to meet up after school, then dropped the phone on the floor carelessly, finding the energy he'd had when he woke up was now gone.

He dozed lazily until he heard the front door of the apartment slam, and assuming it was Wolf leaving for work, crept down the hall and sure enough found he was gone. On the bench, like the man had promised, were one hundred and fifty pounds and the key, with a hastily scribbled note;

_Don't blow this, kid._

* * *

Standing back, a little exhausted, Alex had to admire his work. The fridge and cupboards were full of essentials. The benches which had been accumulating a layer of dust, sticky spillages, and crumbs were now sparkling, and the piles of dishes which had probably been neglected over the last month were now clean and put back in their respective places. He's even vacuumed the house and scrubbed the bathroom.

Albeit being a spy for super intelligence, Alex was a normal teenager who hated housework, but he couldn't wait to see Wolf's face when he walked in to a clean house for once.

But when it was five o'clock, and his guardian still wasn't home, so Alex arranged to meet up with Tom.

Thinking Wolf wouldn't panic at his absence, he went without leaving a note, taking the Tube to the Chelsea district. The walk to Tom's was familiar and easy enough, having done it more times than he could count, but he couldn't help feeling watched, and was having difficulty resisting the urge to check over his shoulder every few minutes.

He almost ran to the front door Tom's old brick house, rapping on the door impatiently.

"Alex!" The dark haired teenager cried as he threw the door open. "Why haven't you been at school if you're still in London? Why's no one at your house? I walk past there yesterday-"

"Is there anyone home?" Alex interrupted as he stepped over the threshold, knowing the questions could last for hours if he let them. He inspected the windows and locked the door behind him carefully.

"No? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it.." He was probably being unnecessarily paranoid, right?

The two sat down in Tom's room, and rather ironically (to Alex, anyway) played Call of Duty, while Alex explained what had happened in the last two days.

Tom's kill streak ended when Alex told him where he was staying.

"_Shit_! Of all people, really? You really do have the worst luck."

"I just wish I knew _why_ him though. It's not as if I can just stroll up to MI6 and ask, can I?"

Soon after the subject was dropped. Tom was his best friend, who he could tell everything to, but it's not as if he knew exactly what to say in these situations.

The dark haired boy even had to pause the game and stare at Alex in awe at the mention of the cute waitress's party.

"_Please_, Alex! I have to go! You can be my wingman!"

He couldn't help rolling his eyes and laughing at this. Tom was terrible at holding his alcohol, and would most likely end up covered in vomit and embarrassing himself.

The two continued to play Xbox, abuse each other, and eat enough food to feed a small African village until ten when Tom's parents came home, loud and drunk from some sort of party, and Tom's face started to flush with embarrassment. Alex took this as a cue to leave, and was just standing and collecting his gear when Tom's mother threw the door open with such force it collided with the wall in a loud bang.

"Go _away_, mum!" Tom groaned, falling face first into his bed.

"Don't be a smart ass, Tommy!" Jo Harris slurred as she flung an arm around Alex's shoulders in order to keep standing right.

"You've grown up to be so good looking, _Alexxxx._" The woman crowed. "I remember when you were this small, I did!" She attempted to gesture below her knees and nearly toppled over.

"Um, yeah nice to see you too Gwen, but I'm just leaving now."

"_Run, Alex_!" Tom cried dramatically, prying his intoxicated mother off of the spy. "Go on without me!"

He left the house laughing, glad he could still hang out with his best friend like before all this government mess had destroyed his life.

Resisting the urge to walk the long way so he could go past his old house, which would just put him in a bad mood, he made it to the Tube and was walking down Wolf's street when he managed to shake off the paranoia. Of all times to attack him, wouldn't it be right now, in the dark, alone?

Once again when he entered the apartment block, there was no receptionist at the desk. In fact, the lobby seemed completely empty, and he met no one going up the elevator, or walking down the hallway of the fourth floor.

He wished he could have kept up this streak, though, as he unlocked the door and was greeted by a steaming Wolf.

"It's _eleven fucking o'clock_, Cub! Where have you been? You're supposed to stay in the apartment, you know, _away_ from the terrorist organisations? There's a fucking reason you were sent here, kid, and it's _my_ job on the line if you go and get yourself killed!"

"I thought you weren't doing the whole parenting thing?" Alex demanded. "I can look after myself!"

Wolf pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.

"Alright, whatever. Let's just agree you be home before dark, okay?"

"Um, no? You're just my guardian for appearances, _James_. You can't tell me what to do."

"While you're living under my fucking roof I can! You're not even allowed to go to school, what makes you think you can be out wandering around in the dark, _alone_? You think you're smart because you've been hired by secret intelligence, but that sounds pretty stupid to me!"

Alex had nothing to say to this, he simply fumed in a furious silence before stalking up the hall. Wolf was as big as a bastard as he had been at Brecon Beacons, why of all places was he forced to live _here_?

James, though, had gone to his own room, and was sitting on his bed with his head in his hands.

It was only the second day the kid had been here, and sure, he'd done the shopping and cleaned and everything, but he was all in all a spoiled, snobby teenager. How was he going to handle looking after this kid, when he didn't even know anything about him? MI6 had given him a brief report- it was sitting in his bedside drawer, he reached over and pulled it out at the thought.

All it told him, was the kids name, and the few missions he'd been on. Not what he had _done_, though, that was classified. Just where he'd been, and that made James curious as hell. All over Europe, Australia, even outer space!

It also said nothing about his parents or home life, or about the apparent terrorist threat.

The SAS soldier groaned again, lying back on the mattress. He's been to Iraq, and he was going to let a damn teenager overthrow him?

Not likely.

* * *

_Wow, well, yeah. I decided I'm going to be continuing this story. I'm trying to separate myself from things in my life making me unhappy, and keeping at things that do make me happy. _

_So I'm back to reading and writing! *pauses for applause*_

_I've had a terrible day, I know this chapter was boring but please leave a review. :)_


	3. Chapter 3

_Well I guess now's the time to warn you sensitive folk out there that this chapter includes fun. Terrible, terrible fun. _

* * *

Alex Rider awoke the next day at the sound of a door slamming. Flipping open his phone and squinting at the small screen with one eye, he found it to be eight thirty, but had no energy to get out of bed to check if Wolf was home.

Not that it mattered anyway, he didn't want to see the man if he was just going to be yelled at again. The SAS soldier would just have to learn eventually that Alex was not someone you could simply tell what to do.

He'd shot the Prime Minister, snowboarded down a mountain on an ironing board, base jumped, been shot in the chest himself, and jumped out of outer space. At such a young age, the fifteen year old had already surpassed someone twenty years older in expertise, and he was not going to let someone he didn't even share mutual respect with order him around.

He frowned slightly, rolling back to face the wall, pulling his quilt around him comfortably, wondering where the heavy and narcissistic thoughts had come from so early in the morning.

Alex spent the next two hours lying in bed, drifting in and out of consciousness before he found himself wide awake and unable to lie still any longer.

After a quick shower, he wandered down to the kitchen and boiled the kettle, unable to stop himself thinking of Jack as he popped a teabag into a tall red mug.

He opened the fridge, and stared at the contents for a long time; so long his eyes unfocused. Deciding on some old bran cereal, as opposed to taking the effort to cook something, he poured it into a bowl along with some milk, finished making his tea, and sat down in front of the television. He had just gotten into a comfortable position and was reaching for the remote when when a frantic knocking at the door disturbed the peace of the small flat.

"James!" A deep male voice cried. "Wolf! Let me in!"

Alex sighed and looked toward the ceiling. _He knew it_. He knew Wolf couldn't have had any friends outside of the SAS, the man was too damn hostile.

He took his time getting up, and the knocking became hysterical.

"It's about ti- Cub? What the fuck?"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Eagle. Can I help you?"

The soldier had gone from agitated to completely confused in a second flat, and had almost forgotten why he was at the apartment.

"I ah, am I at the wrong flat? Oh my god, this is so awkward."

"Nope, I live with Wolf now. He's at work."

"Wait, _what_? We don't talk to the man for a month and he goes and adopts a kid out of loneliness."

Alex couldn't help but snort at this. "Well you know how much Wolf loves the company." He replied sarcastically.

"Well um, hope he's not being too hard on you and everything." Eagle finished rather lamely. "I'll come around again later."

"Yeah, catch you." Alex closed the door and went back to the couch. What was Eagle after, if he says he hasn't seen Wolf in a month? It sounded pretty important when he was banging on the door.

His cereal had gone soggy and there was nothing on TV, so he gave up and went back to the guest room, and dialled Tom's number.

It took seven rings before the boy picked up his phone.

"What?" He answered sleepily.

"Tom! Wake up you lazy slut, I'm bored."

He was promptly hung up on.

Alex collapsed back first onto the bed, staring up at the clean white ceiling. It wasn't even lunch yet and he was so _bored_.

He lied there for what seem like eternity, but when he checked his phone, he saw it was only ten to twelve.

He decided to get ready and leave before any more members of K-Unit decided to show up.

He collected his phone, wallet, and key, and left for the Tube.

It was a nice day outside, there was a weak cool wind but the sun made up for it, and the walk was quite pleasurable.

Half an hour later he was strolling down Tom's street and knocking on his door. When there was no answer, he concluded Tom had gone back to sleep and was home alone. The door was unlocked, and the spy easily ambled through the house and kicked open his best friend's bedroom door with a vicious war cry.

Tom let out a muffled exclamation of surprise and buried under his blanket.

"Rise and shine, Tommikins!"

"_Alex_! G'way!"

"It's past noon you lazy twat, get out of bed." He emphasised this by sitting on the lump cowering under the covers, until he was knocked off the bed with a pillow to the face.

Tom gave a non-committal groan before rolling over and closing his eyes.

There was a pause as Alex looked around for a weapon heavy enough to get his friend out of bed.

"..Wait, what day is it?"

"Saturday." Alex supplied from the floor where he'd landed.

Tom shot up as though he'd been electrocuted. "_What_? Tonight's that cute waitress's party?"

"Yep."

"Why didn't you say so? I'm going to go shower." The boy ran out of his room with energy he didn't seem to have had two minutes ago.

Alex sighed- at least he had different scenery to be bored in now.

He opened his phone and texted Jessie's number.

_Party still on tonight? X_

It took two seconds for the girl to reply.

_Be here at 10 xxx_

It was a good thing Tom wasn't big on hygiene, because he was only staring at the ceiling for five minutes when the boy strolled back in, wet haired and fully dressed, holding two Coronas, one of which he handed to Alex.

"Really, Tom? It's not even one yet." The spy raised an eyebrow as he took the bottle.

"Hey! Don't judge me. Today has good vibes, man. I can_ feel_ it."

The two spent the majority of the day doing what most teenage boys do best; defeating Nazi zombies on Call of Duty and drinking beers.

It was seven o'clock before both boys lost their round, tipsy and giggling.

Tom glanced at his wrist before realising he didn't own a watch.

"You know what time it is, Alex?" He asked, a giant smile on his face.

"What time is it, Tom?"

"_SHOTS O'CLOCK_!" The dark hair boy howled, throwing his hands up in the air as he stood up and walked down the stairs. Alex followed, a little slower, laughing at his friend's enthusiasm.

"When are your parents getting home?" Alex asked as they reached the kitchen and Tom was reaching into a cupboard to bring out a large glass bottle of Smirnoff Vodka.

"Not tonight!" Tom grinned, pulling out fruit juice, a protein drink container, and two shot glasses.

He put some ice in the drink container, and poured in the vodka and juice, then shook it roughly.

Alex sat down on the opposite side of the bench and watched Tom pour the alcoholic liquid into the two tiny glasses.

"It's pink." He wrinkled his nose.

"It's apple and _guava_." Tom insisted, shoving it across the bench like an impatient bartender. "Toast?"

They clinked glasses. "To good vibes and hot waitresses!"

The vodka burned Alex's throat as he swallowed, and he couldn't help making a face, but it didn't taste all that bad. Tom was already taking the glass away from him and pouring another one.

"The party's not til ten. How are you expecting to get there if we're too wasted to stand up?"

"Relax, Alex. Good vibes!"

He tossed his head back for another shot again and slammed the glass down on the bench. Alex followed suit, beginning to feel a pleasant warm numbness in his fingers.

* * *

Wolf was looking much like his namesake pacing the small living room and growling in frustration. It was now nine o'clock, _past his curfew_.

"He's a responsible boy, James. I'll sure he just got held up."

"He's not responsible!" Cried Wolf in exasperation. He would have grabbed his hair in frustration if it wasn't so closely shaved to his scalp. "He's a little shit, it's Saturday night, and he has a freaking terrorist organisation out to get him!"

"Have you tried ringing him?" Ben Daniels asked, bewildered.

"Well uh.. I haven't exactly got his number." The leader admitted sheepishly. He was fixed with dead stares from his unit.

"He's got yours though, right?" Fox was becoming increasingly worried.

"I don't think so?"

Eagle burst into laughter from his seat on the couch. "I-I'm sorry!" He cried, holding his stomach. "Just of all people to give a kid to," he dissolved into sniggers, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye.

"_Shut up_!" Wolf hissed, reaching over to give Eagle a dead arm. "It's not like I asked for it."

"But why not Fox?" Snake looked to his old teammate. "Don't you both work at MI6?"

Ben stroked his chin, neglecting to mention Australia. "Yeah. I don't know."

"Where is he, though? I told him not to go out!"

"I'm sure he'll show up." Eagle sighed, rubbing his bruised bicep, as he walked toward the fridge.

"Beer. Anyone?" He asked. Everyone accepted gratefully.

* * *

It was ten thirty as Alex and Tom stumbled up to the door of Jessie the Waitress's (the pair had come to call her) parent's house. It was a large, expensive looking estate, half an hour away from the nearest bus stop, which had forced the pair of overly tipsy teenagers to walk.

Alex helped Tom off the ground for the sixth time, (or more? Who could remember) and they walked down the impressive looking driveway together, stopping to try and catch a ginger cat that had been wandering away from the rowdy party.

"Commere kitty," Tom crowed, holding his finger out come hither, which the cat merely looked at with an offended expression on his squashed face.

Alex fell to the ground laughing, howling something incoherent about how Tom was never going to find a lover.

There was already an array of cans, bottles, and general litter on the pristine lawn. There were a few girls in skimpy dresses smoking on a small brick wall, and they could hear the heavy bass of trance music and people laughing before they even entered.

The first thing that hit them was the smell of smoke and alcohol- it was almost overwhelming. The house seemed to be an expensive estate, with a large entrance hall area currently being used as a dance floor by around thirty people.

"Good vibes!" Tom tried to shout over the loud music, heading straight for a table pushed up against a wall with a huge bowl of punch.

Alex followed dreamily, pushing through the crowd, his hand lingering longer than necessary on a cute blonde's back. She turned to give him an appreciative smile, which he returned eagerly.

When he reached the punch table, Tom was already chatting to a short brunette; she was laughing at something he said as he passed her a drink.

"Alex!" He yelled and Alex had to lean in to hear what he was saying. "This is Cassie."

He smiled at the girl and she returned it. "So you're the famous Alex Rider?" She yelled in his ear.

He laughed and shook his head modestly. Surely anything the girl had heard about him wouldn't be good.

She dropped the conversation, turning back to Tom and laying a hand on his arm as he swung to the music, and dragged him out to the dance floor.

The next hour blurred for Alex as he spent the next hour dancing and laughing with the cute blonde girl he'd come across before, though he hadn't seen Jessie yet. The heavy bass of dubstep flowed through every particle of his being, and he was sure he'd never felt so carefree.

The pair decided to move off into the backyard, away from the strobe lights and sweaty crowd where they could hear each other speak.

There was a group of stoners in one far corner of the lawn, passing around a pipe, looking far too serious to be having fun. Alex and his partner ignored them, joining hands and making lame jokes that were entirely too funny.

Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani was pumping through the sound system, and the girl (Alex wasn't quite sure of her name yet) tossed her hands into the air, swaying to the beat.

"_Cause I aint no hollaback girllll!" _She sang, grabbing the boy's hand. "Come on, Alex, dance with me."

They shared cheeky smiles, as they danced together on the lawn, too drunk to care about the stares they were receiving.

But suddenly the music cut off, and everyone stopped talking, and any teenager who's ever been to a house party would know what that means.

"Police!" Alex laughed, pulling the girl along in a run to the fence line, the adrenaline sobering him up a little.

The fence was far too high and impossibly flat to climb over, but there was a handy tree in the far corner which looked almost _too_ easy to scale.

"I can't climb that!" The girl wailed (seriously, what was her name?), tugging on her short, tight skirt, but tugging off her heels.

"You know what they do to pretty girls like you in jail?" Alex stood behind her with his hands on her hips, ready to lift her onto the first branch. "Ready?"

He climbed behind her carefully, ready to catch her if she slipped.

"You're going to have to jump!" He encouraged her. She gave a frightened wail as she looked down at the ground, but Alex had to admire her bravery as she slipped off the branch and thudded on the ground, unharmed.

He followed, grabbing her hand again and pulling her to his chest in a chaste kiss, before breaking it and pulling her away from the fence. They could hear the sound of scuffling and yelling on the other side, and ran through the forest area that surrounded the estate.

They ran for a while stumbling over everything wildly until they reached the road, and then walked some more, struggling to catch their breath. When they reached the bus stop, there was already a large group of drunken teenagers waiting. Tom was one of them, or Alex thought it was Tom. Between his best friend and the girl he was wrapped around, he couldn't really tell where one started and the other ended.

That was the last thing Alex remembered before he was suddenly strolling down the road of Wolf's building, blasting music through his terrible quality phone speakers.

Time was irrelevant to the young spy as he stumbled through the small lobby, but even he knew it would probably be some unreasonable hour of the morning. He turned his music off, and tripped over a potted plant as he was concentrating of the phone screen.

"_Shushhhhh._" He reprimanded the inanimate object in a whisper. "You'll wake Wolf up!"

He swayed to an imaginary beat as he waited for the elevator, Hollaback Girl repeating itself in his head, and he had to grip onto the rail as the lift moved upwards, feeling his stomach go up four floors and tie in knots. He wondered what the other occupants of Wolf's flat would think if they came across a puddle of vomit in the middle of the hallway- not that he's ever seen any of Wolf's neighbours, now that the spy thought about it.

It sure seemed like an appropriate time to knock door to door and get to know them, though. They were probably lovely people.

But sure enough, Alex lost track of what he was doing and found himself almost mechanically at apartment 12D.

It took him a few goes to get the key in the slot, after a few whispered encouragements and having to stick his tongue out in exactly the right direction, the door swung open, far too loud to be inconspicuous.

Not that the teen was getting away with it anyway, all the lights were still on, and the television suddenly turned down.

Standing in the small living room, was a livid Wolf, and a worried looking Fox. Perched on the couch were Eagle and Snake, looking for all the world as if an exciting game of tennis was about to start.

Alex couldn't help himself. He stared at the scene for a moment, fixing an innocent expression on his face before losing an internal battle and bursting into raucous laughter, leaning against the wall for support.

"I- I knew it!" He slurred through the giggles. "It's like walking into a fucking zoo!"

"_Cub_!" Wolf was barking. The man marched over to the intoxicated teen and grabbed him roughly by the arm. "Are you fucking _drunk_?"

Eagle was laughing in the background, and Snake was struggling to hide an amused expression.

"No! Of course not, I'm an angel." He fixed Wolf with his best smile.

"This isn't like you Alex." Ben piped in, his arms crossed and concern etched on his face.

"How would you know?" Wolf spun around and demanded.

"_Food_." Alex groaned from where he'd collapsed on the floor.

"Food." Eagle agreed, nodding his head understandably.

"Food?" Wolf growled.

"Foo-!"

"Shut up Eagle! No Alex, you aren't going to burn the complex down attempting to cook. Do you have any idea what damn time it is? You're going to bed; I can't deal with you right now."

This was when K- Unit lost control, exploding with laughter.

"Wolf's a daddy!" Fox cried, a hand over his heart and a proud expression on his face.

"_Shut up_!" Wolf snarled, and no one in the room had to wonder why he'd been given that exact codename.

He grabbed Alex by the leg and dragged him down the hall, and K- Unit listened to the thuds of Cub resisting, wails of "_Fooood_!" and giggles before finally, silence.

Wolf walked out of the room with a positively evil grin on his face, brushing his hands together as though warding away dirt.

* * *

Alex woke up feeling as though he'd been ransacked by a group of angry goats, and was vaguely aware he was drowning in a large puddle of his own spit.

Peeling his cheek away from his arm slowly, he was bewildered to see a phone number written in a large font all down his forearm in permanent marker. What had _that_ happened? He wiped the cold spit off his face on his shirt, which happened to be the one he was wearing last night. There was a large pink stain on the front of the white material.

A throb of pain attacked his membrane and his stomach did a backflip. Unable to contain the loud groan of pain that escaped his lips, he chose to ignore the vicious laughter coming from the kitchen as he entered the bathroom.

A quick look in the mirror confirmed his worse fear- he looked terrible.

His hair was a complete mess, the ink on his arm had imprinted on his pale face, and his eyes were horribly bloodshot, but it was still nothing compared to what he was feeling.

After a long, long session of sitting in the shower wishing he'd never agreed to go to the party, he stumbled into the kitchen where Wolf was sitting, eating eggs and bacon completely covered in tomato sauce. The smell was completely seductive to Alex's pained nostrils.

"Morning, Cub!" Wolf greeted cheerfully. "Wonderful day, isn't it?"

The light spilling from the open windows was attacking the teen's eyes, and Alex felt the symptoms of a migraine coming on. He walked over and pulled them shut.

"You're a cruel, cruel man. You know that?" His only response was a wicked smile. "I feel sorry for you. You were probably neglected as a child, and now you have to live the rest of your miserable existence cold and unable to love."

"Lovely impression you made on everyone last night. They came over just to see you, and you made a complete idiot of yourself."

Alex was in too much pain to care. "Whatever." He grabbed a spoon and the tub of icecream out of the freezer and shuffled back to his room to avoid the light.

* * *

_Hallelujah__. This is my first ever story I haven't abandoned after two chapters!_

_The response for the last chapter was amazing! Your reviews and alerts make me so happy. :)_

_Also, this chapter was a lot of fun to write, I was in the zone. I scribbled down the drunk scene just after I'd got home from a lovely house party, and revised it the next morning. Good vibes. :) xxx_


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